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SEATTLE, – Today’s first-time homebuyer is older and more likely to be single than first-time homebuyers in the 1970s and 1980s, according to a new Zillow® analysisi.

Zillow’s study found that Americans are renting for an average of six years before buying their first homes. In the 1970s, they rented for an average of 2.6 years. They’re also spending a bigger chunk of their incomes to buy: In the 1970s, first-time homebuyers bought homes that cost about 1.7 times their annual income. Now they’re buying homes that cost 2.6 times their annual income.

Part of that can be attributed to the housing markets where millennials are moving: more expensive cities on the coasts, where there are growing job markets.

The average first-time homebuyer is about 33, at the front end of the millennial generation. Their median income is $54,340, which is about the same as what first-time homebuyers made in the 1970s, when adjusted for inflation.

In the late 1980s, 52 percent of first-time homebuyers were married. Today, only 40% were married.

“Millennials are delaying all kinds of major life decisions, like getting married and having kids, so it makes sense that they would also delay buying a home,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. “We know millennials value home-ownership and want to buy. The next challenge will be figuring out how they can save for a down payment and qualify for a mortgage, especially while the rental market is so unaffordable all over the country. The last hurdle will be finding a home they like amidst very tight inventory, especially among starter homes.”

Paying for a mortgage is still affordable, while rent takes up more income than ever in most major metro areas, according to a Zillow® analysis of U.S. rental and mortgage affordabilityi in the second quarter of 2015.

Rental affordability worsened over the last year, while mortgage affordability stayed essentially the same. Renters in the U.S. can expect to put 30.2 percent of their monthly income toward rent – the highest percentage ever. Before the real estate bubble and bust, U.S. renters could expect to spend about 24.4 percent of their incomes on rent.

Buyers should expect to pay 15.1 percent of their income towards mortgage payments, which is still less than what they spent historically. From 1985 through 2000, homeowners spent about 21.3 percent of their monthly income on mortgage payments.

In Denver and four California metros, both renters and buyers can expect to pay more of their income towards either rent or mortgage payments than in pre-bubble years. In hot San Jose, renters and buyers should each plan to put about 42 percent of their incomes towards housing.

“Our research found that unaffordable rents are making it hard for people to save for a down payment and retirement, and that people whose rent is unaffordable are more likely to skip out on their own healthcare,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. “There are good reasons to rent temporarily – when you move to a new city, for example – but from an affordability perspective, rents are crazy right now. If you can possibly come up with a down payment, then it’s a good time to buy a home and start putting your money toward a mortgage.”

Mortgage payments will continue to be affordable even if mortgage rates rise as expected. If rates reach six percent next year, home buyers can still expect to spend 30 percent or less of their income on mortgage payments in 265 out of 290 (91.4 percent) of the metros Zillow analyzed, and mortgage payments will be considered more affordable than in pre-bubble years in 72.1 percent of metros.

Rents, on the other hand, are already unaffordable compared to historic norms in 77 percent of metros, and with relatively stagnant wage growth, this likely won’t improve as rents keep climbing.

About Zillow
Zillow® is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with the best local professionals who can help. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow’s Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Zillow also sponsors the bi-annual Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) which measures consumer confidence in local housing markets, both currently and over time. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z), and headquartered in Seattle.

SAN JOSE, Calif., — Realtor.com®, a leading provider of online real estate services operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] subsidiary Move, Inc., today announced the launch of a five-episode digital video series created to provide first-time home buyers with practical and entertainingly delivered advice on the start-to-finish stages of the purchase cycle. The original series is part of a broad marketing campaign realtor.com® launched in May and comes at a time when millennial sentiment about buying a home has seen a significant increase.

The webisodes, which feature Emmy-nominated actress, producer and director Elizabeth Banks, and are directed by Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor, producer and director Fred Savage, will be promoted across a range of digital platforms and publishers including AOL, Curbed, Facebook, Google, HGTV, Hulu, Reddit and Yahoo, among others. All of the media will drive consumers back to realtor.com® to consume the entire series.

“We want everyone to think of realtor.com® as the best real-time resource to help them make the most informed real estate decisions,” said Andrew Strickman, Move’s head of brand and chief creative. “Our knowledge that many buyers turn to the Web first for help navigating one of life’s most important decisions, and the fact that many first-time buyers prefer to consume entertainment digitally, drove the development of the content. With a partner like Elizabeth to help us, there was no question this humorous, episodic approach to the home-buying process was the way to go.”

The digital video series, “The Home Buying Process in Plain English with Elizabeth Banks,” is the latest component of the biggest and boldest marketing initiative in realtor.com®’s nearly 20-year history.

Results of a recent realtor.com® survey1 released in June found that millennials are now more inclined to take the plunge into home ownership and this demographic is primed to gain market share in the second half of the year. Sixty five percent of millennials responding to the survey intend to buy a home within three months, up from 54 percent in January.

By mixing humor with solid advice for any buyer, particularly first-time buyers, Banks walks viewers through the key components of the process in each of the five episodes. In the first episode, called “Knowing When You’re Ready,” she recommends that potential buyers have a heart-to-heart with themselves about what they can actually afford: “Plan for the house you can afford now, not later. The most important thing for a first-time buyer is to live within your budget. Also, don’t be an idiot … But those are really the same thing.”

Episodes two through five – “Mortgage Lending 101”; “The Search”; “The Offer” and “Closing the Sale” – provide insight on the benefits of mortgage pre-approval, the do’s and don’ts of searching for a home, open house etiquette, what to expect when making an offer and the closing process.

Regarding why she thinks it is important to infuse humor into the home-buying process, Banks said: “For nearly everyone, buying a home is the biggest purchase they will ever make so there is that mixture of joy and anxiety. It’s important to use humor to get people through the process.”

Banks’ directorial debut, the musical comedy “Pitch Perfect 2,” premiered in May, with the best opening by a first-time director in history. She currently appears opposite John Cusack and Paul Dano in the Brian Wilson biopic “Love & Mercy.” Later this month, she will be seen in the Netflix Original Series reboot “Wet, Hot American Summer,” co-starring Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd.

The digital series was created by Pereira & O’Dell New York, the company’s advertising agency, and directed by Savage, who is best known for his iconic role as Kevin Arnold in the 80’s hit TV series “The Wonder Years.” His directorial credits include the hit series “Modern Family,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and the critically acclaimed kids’ shows “Phil of the Future,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Zeke and Luther.”

About Move, Inc. and realtor.com®
Move, Inc., a subsidiary of News Corp, is a leading provider of online real estate services. Move operates the realtor.com® website and mobile experiences, which connect people to the most important and accurate information they need to find their perfect home and to the REALTORS® whose expertise guides consumers through buying and selling. As the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, realtor.com® empowers consumers to make smart home-buying, selling and renting decisions by leveraging its direct, real-time connections with more than 800 multiple listing services (MLS) via all types of computers, tablets and smartphones. In addition to the industry’s most comprehensive and accurate information, Move’s network of websites provides consumers a wealth of innovative tools, including Doorsteps®, Moving.com™, SeniorHousingNetSM and others. Move supports real estate agents and brokerages by providing many services to grow their businesses, including ListHub™, the nation’s leading listing syndicator and centralized intelligence platform for the real estate industry; TigerLead®; Top Producer® Systems; and FiveStreetSM; as well as many free services. Move is based in the heart of Silicon Valley – in San Jose, Calif.

ATLANTA, – The Home Depot®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, will host its third annual Hurricane Preparedness Workshops on Saturday, May 30, 2015. The one-day event, held in nearly 700 stores from the Gulf Coast to New England, will help prepare residents in storm-prone regions ahead of hurricane season, which begins June 1.

Hurricane Workshops are part of The Home Depot’s commitment to educate residents on critical storm readiness topics and will cover understanding hurricane alerts and categories, creating a storm survival kit, choosing a generator, weathering a hurricane safely and repairing a home after a storm has passed.

“Our associates are passionate about being a trusted resource for our communities, friends and neighbors in both storm preparation and disaster recovery,” said Marc Powers, executive vice president, U.S. Stores, The Home Depot. “As our company prepares for hurricane season, our Hurricane Preparedness workshops encourage communities to prepare to be in the best possible position when a storm strikes. For our customers who cannot make the workshops we also offer great tips at www.homedepot.com/hurricane and our knowledgeable associates are always willing to help with any project.”

For the third year in a row, the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will participate in The Home Depot’s Hurricane Workshops. For the first time, Team Rubicon, a nonprofit that unites the skills of military veterans with first responders to deploy emergency response teams in communities impacted by natural disasters, also will join The Home Depot’s Hurricane Workshops.

Hurricane Preparedness Workshops are free, open to the public and will be held on Saturday, May 30, from 10-11:30 a.m. local time. Participating stores and registration information can be found online at workshops.homedepot.com. Customers not able to attend the event can learn more about hurricane preparedness through our virtual hurricane workshop.

The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,270 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2014, The Home Depot had sales of $83.2 billion and earnings of $6.3 billion. The Company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

SEATTLE, – Zillow Group, which houses a portfolio of the largest and most vibrant real estate and home-related brands on mobile and Web, today announced that northern Colorado-based Information and Real Estate Services, LLC, (IRES Multiple Listing Service) has signed a direct agreement allowing their 6,000 brokers the ability to send their listings to Zillow® and Trulia®. As a part of the new partnership, Zillow Group will also offer expanded metrics on IRES listings through ListTrac – making IRES the first MLS to offer its members expanded, customized reporting metrics about their listings on Zillow and Trulia through ListTrac.

“Metrics about listing performance are very important to all our MLS partners,” said Errol Samuelson, Zillow Group chief industry development officer. “The Zillow Data Dashboard is a great reporting option, but we also are pleased to help our partners by providing them access to other metrics with their partner of choice. It goes back to our goal of providing the most value we possibly can to the MLS and its members.”

“We are very excited to have Zillow statistics in ListTrac,” said Lauren Hansen, IRES chief executive officer. “This gives our brokers the ability to see listing activity from various websites in one report. ListTrac also provides a weekly report for sellers so they are kept up to date with online marketing efforts. With Zillow’s large consumer audience, we felt it was important to include their statistics in ListTrac and are pleased with the partnership.”

Zillow Group also offers expanded reporting options through Zillow Tech Connect: Reports, the third and newest pillar of the popular Zillow Tech Connect program. Through Zillow Tech Connect: Reports, MLSs and brokerages who send their listings directly to Zillow will have access to expanded reporting on their listings by their vendor of choice. Companies interested in joining Zillow Tech Connect: Reports can email techpartnerships@zillow.com for more information.

Zillow Group
Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) houses a portfolio of the largest real estate and home-related brands on the Web and mobile. The company’s brands focus on all stages of the home lifecycle: renting, buying, selling, financing and home improvement. Zillow Group is committed to empowering consumers with unparalleled data, inspiration and knowledge around homes, and connecting them with the right local professionals to help. The Zillow Group portfolio of consumer brands includes real estate and rental marketplaces Zillow®, Trulia®, StreetEasy® and HotPads®. In addition, Zillow Group works with tens of thousands of real estate agents, lenders and rental professionals, helping maximize business opportunities and connect to millions of consumers. The company operates a number of business brands for real estate, rental and mortgage professionals, including Postlets®, Mortech®, Diverse Solutions®, Market Leader® and Retsly™. The company is headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow, Postlets, Mortech, Diverse Solutions, StreetEasy, and HotPads are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc. Retsly is a trademark of Zillow, Inc. Trulia is a registered trademark of Trulia, Inc.

About IRES
IRES was formed in 1996 as a regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Colorado by five Boards and Associations of REALTORS®. IRES has a known reputation of providing an innovative and robust database for real estate professionals. Their office is centrally located in Loveland, Colorado. Additional information about IRES can be found on their company website, www.IRES-net.com and their public facing listing site, www.ColoProperty.com.

SAN JOSE, Calif., — Move, Inc., a subsidiary of News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA], today announced enhanced features for realtor.com® ShowcaseSM Listing Enhancements, FiveStreetSM, and Top Producer® CRM to help real estate professionals establish deeper connections with buyers and streamline the way they manage inbound leads.

“At Move, we pride ourselves on providing a holistic solution that arms brokerage firms, and their agents, with the best ways to optimize their listings and manage their businesses,” said Ray Picard, Move’s executive vice president of sales. “The combined benefits of Move’s new product enhancements are the one-two punch that brokers and agents are looking for to help them close transactions. First, enhanced listing features help brokers and agents grab the attention of potential home buyers. As leads from interested buyers come in, agents are able to respond quickly and have quick access to information they need for a meaningful discussion.”

ShowcaseSM leads now come packed with additional consumer information to help real estate professionals connect immediately and have meaningful conversations with prospective home buyers. Enhancements to realtor.com®’s ShowcaseSM listings include:

Mobile-optimized Intelligent Lead Notifications
Phone and email address validation service
Consumer search interests plus images and descriptions of recently searched property listings
Showing Request alerts
FiveStreetSM and Top Producer® CRM products are designed to help brokerage firms and their agents effectively manage their business and respond to incoming leads in a timely manner. With FiveStreetSM and Top Producer® CRM, teams and brokerages can now:

Consolidate their leads from realtor.com® plus over 100+ sources
Respond instantly to every lead via short message service (SMS) and email
Broadcast leads to multiple agents at once where the first to claim receives the lead
Provide their agents a leading system to manage and optimize the process of converting a lead to a long term and repeat client
Track lead and agent performance
“We see an entrepreneurial spirit in our agents and we are committed to providing them with the best technology tools and resources to help them better serve their clients,” said Scott Agran, broker and president at Lang Realty. “We were looking for the ‘best in class’ suite of products to support our marketing initiatives and found that ShowcaseSM coupled with FiveStreetSM, Top Producer® and Market Snapshot underscored exceptional service and the importance of the real estate professionals’ expertise and insight.”

“It is essential that we respond to inquiries immediately and provide valued service to our clients,” said Ron Mintz, executive vice president at Bay Sotheby’s International. “By incorporating both FiveStreetSM and Top Producer® into our toolkit, we’ve cut our response time to seconds in the hopes of capturing the interested party, rather than losing them. This is a monumental win for our clients.”

With the addition of these enhancements, Move continues to evolve by delivering real estate professionals the best marketing solutions possible – empowering brokerage firms to be even more successful. Realtor.com®’s lead volume has grown exponentially over the last five years (over 325%) and brokers and agents rate realtor.com® higher than the competition for lead quality.

About Move, Inc. and realtor.com®
Move, Inc., a subsidiary of News Corp, is a leading provider of online real estate services. Move operates the realtor.com® website and mobile experiences, which connect people to the most important and accurate information they need to find their perfect home and to the REALTORS® whose expertise guides consumers through buying and selling. As the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, realtor.com® empowers consumers to make smart home buying, selling and renting decisions by leveraging its direct, real-time connections with more than 800 multiple listing services (MLS) via all types of computers, tablets and smartphones. In addition to the industry’s most comprehensive and accurate information, Move’s network of websites provides consumers a wealth of innovative tools, including Moving.com™, SeniorHousingNetSM and others. Move supports real estate agents and brokerages by providing many services to grow their businesses, including ListHub™, the nation’s leading listing syndicator and centralized intelligence platform for the real estate industry; TigerLead®; Top Producer® Systems; and FiveStreetSM; as well as many free services. Move is based in the heart of Silicon Valley – in San Jose, Calif.

WASHINGTON, DC – Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) today announced Green Rewards, a new multifamily financing option that helps owners of apartment buildings and cooperatives invest in energy- and water-cost saving improvements. These investments can improve and preserve the quality of multifamily properties and lower utility costs, saving money for both property owners and renters. Green Rewards is available today nationwide.

“Green Rewards does just that, it rewards borrowers for investing in smart property improvements by giving owners a lower all-in interest rate and access to more loan dollars,” said Jeffery Hayward, Executive Vice President and Head of Multifamily at Fannie Mae. “The resulting greener property really has rewards for all of housing’s stakeholders: it means increased cash flows for the owners, lower utility expenses and better quality housing for tenants, and a high quality asset backing our MBS for investors.”

Green Rewards provides property owners with both extra loan proceeds and a lower all-in interest rate. For example, a multifamily property seeking to refinance a $10 million loan could receive an additional $250,000 in loan proceeds to make energy- and water- saving improvements that will reduce its annual $140,000 energy and water costs by 30 percent. Green Rewards includes a portion of the owner’s and the tenant’s projected energy- and water-cost savings in the loan’s underwriting, resulting in greater loan proceeds than a typical loan. In addition, Green Rewards reduces the all-in interest rate by 10 basis points; on the same $10.25 million loan this could result in savings of more than $98,000 in total interest over the 10-year loan term.

With Green Rewards, property owners can make smart investments that reduce energy and water expenses, generate electricity or result in a third-party green building certification, including installing ENERGY STAR® certified HVAC systems, electricity-generating solar panels, water-reducing irrigation systems, or applying for a Green Building Certification, such as ENERGY STAR® or U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

Both conventional and affordable multifamily properties are eligible for Green Rewards, as well as cooperatives, seniors, military and student housing properties. Properties may be located anywhere in the United States, and must be able to project a 20 percent minimum consumption savings in energy and/or water. To track energy performance over time, owners with a Green Rewards loan must report the property’s ENERGY STAR® score annually. The additional loan proceeds must be reinvested in the property within 12 months of loan closing.

Green Rewards is the latest green financing innovation from Fannie Mae Multifamily. Fannie Mae announced in February that multifamily properties with an existing Green Building Certification will receive a 10 basis point reduction in the interest rate on new loans. In 2011, Fannie Mae introduced Green Preservation Plus which supports the preservation of affordable housing, providing up to an additional five percent in loan proceeds to affordable housing owners seeking to make energy and water efficiency upgrades at the time of acquiring or refinancing the property. Fannie Mae also recently reduced the all-in interest rate on its Green Preservation Plus loans by 10 basis points. Fannie Mae is the market leader in green solutions for the multifamily industry, providing over $130 million in Green Financing as of the end of 2014.

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2015 – Realtor.com®, a leading provider of online real estate services operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] subsidiary Move, Inc., stepped out emphatically today with the introduction of a new graphic identity and national advertising campaign that position the brand as the best – and truest – provider of real estate information and services for buyers, sellers and renters of properties in the U.S.

The new work was previewed here this afternoon by Move CEO Ryan O’Hara in keynote remarks to more than 2,000 industry leaders and real estate professionals gathered for the 2015 Realtors® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.

The campaign represents the biggest and boldest marketing initiative in realtor.com®’s nearly 20-year history and unfolds against the backdrop of a marketplace that has been seismically altered by the recent acquisition of Move by News Corp and the merger of competitors Zillow and Trulia. At stake are online home listings and homes-for-sale ads exceeding $9 billion annually, according to a recent research report by Goldman, Sachs & Co. The campaign also coincides with the continued surge of realtor.com®’s business, which has seen record growth in web and mobile visitors and the brand’s recent ascension to the industry’s #2 position.

The new graphic identity will immediately become a centerpiece of realtor.com®’s communications on its website and mobile apps and in its advertising. The new look hinges on a two-tone logotype in which the “real” in realtor.com® is called out in bright red letters and the rest of the name is presented in black. It is intended to communicate that while competitors may feature conflicting or inaccurate information, realtor.com® stands for what is real in real estate by delivering fresh and accurate listings and connecting people with the data, tools and professional expertise they need to discover their perfect home.

“Serving buyers, sellers and renters of properties with the best information and tools anytime, anywhere and communicating the value brokers and agents provide as trusted guides through the process is our utmost priority,” said Ryan O’Hara, chief executive officer of Move. “This is what we mean by what’s real in real estate – and what sets us apart.”

It is a message that is at the heart of realtor.com®’s new advertising, which revolves around a series of 15- and 30-second TV spots and longer-form web videos featuring Elizabeth Banks, the Emmy-nominated actress, producer and director who is among Hollywood’s most sought after and versatile performers.

Ms. Banks’ directorial debut, the musical comedy Pitch Perfect 2, opens in theaters nationwide on Friday. This summer she will appear opposite John Cusack and Paul Dano in the Brian Wilson biographical feature film Love and Mercy, which is scheduled for release on June 5. Later this year, she will reprise her role as District 12 escort Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, the next installment of the global blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, which to date has grossed in excess of $2 billion worldwide at the box office.

Regarding her interest in participating in the realtor.com® campaign, Ms. Banks said: “I’m a little house obsessed and looking for a new home right now, which made the opportunity to work on the new realtor.com® ad campaign a great fit. I love the accessibility of realtor.com®. My husband and I email each other photos of houses to look at and the other person can pull them right up – no matter where they are. The realtor.com® app literally allows you to take the home buying experience with you everywhere in your daily life.”

The new realtor.com® campaign – which is unified by the tagline “real estate in real time” – was created by Pereira & O’Dell New York, the company’s advertising agency, under the direction of Andrew Strickman, Move’s head of brand and chief creative. In it, Ms. Banks portrays a real estate-obsessed version of herself and delivers the message with humor, smarts, glamour and sass.

In the campaign’s first spot, called “Jim,” she observes the title character using the realtor.com® website to find his dream home. “You’re a real-time real estate renegade there, Jim Bob,” she says. “An arbiter of accuracy. A phenom of fresh listings. A master of mortgage rates. A ruler of refinancing. An emperor of escrow. Jim, let’s live in that house together.”

The TV ads debut May 18 and will run across major broadcast networks and cable channels, including CBS – where a :30 slot has been secured on the eagerly anticipated final episode of the Late Show with David Letterman on May 20 – HGTV, Bravo, TBS, Comedy Central and Spike, among others. The web videos featuring Ms. Banks will break later.

The new ads are intended to appeal to a wide consumer target – from millennials looking for small, low-priced homes for themselves and their pets to young couples looking for more space on tight budgets to families looking for bigger, longer-term homes.

For repeat buyers, the realtor.com® message will be delivered by integrated advertising positioning the brand as the best tool for homebuyers looking to make the smartest, most informed purchase decisions. For first-time buyers, who account for roughly one-third of U.S. home sales in a typical year, the approach will feature branded content presented in a so-called “edutainment” format positioning realtor.com® as a trusted ally demystifying the real estate process.

The TV spots and web videos were directed by Fred Savage, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actor, director and producer best known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American TV series The Wonder Years. Mr. Savage’s directorial credits include episodes of the popular TV series Modern Family and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the critically acclaimed kids’ shows Phil of the Future, Wizards of Waverly Place and Zeke and Luther. He has also directed commercials for a number of leading consumer brands, including Farmers Insurance, the California Milk Board and Fitbit.

To view the realtor.com® ad spots, please visit:
Realtor.com – “Jim”
Realtor.com – “Constant Change”

About Move, Inc. and realtor.com®
Move, Inc., a subsidiary of News Corp, is a leading provider of online real estate services. Move operates the realtor.com® website and mobile experiences, which connect people to the most important and accurate information they need to find their perfect home and to the REALTORS® whose expertise guides consumers through buying and selling. As the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, realtor.com® empowers consumers to make smart home buying, selling and renting decisions by leveraging its direct, real-time connections with more than 800 multiple listing services (MLS) via all types of computers, tablets and smartphones. In addition to the industry’s most comprehensive and accurate information, Move’s network of websites provides consumers a wealth of innovative tools, including Moving.com™, SeniorHousingNetSM and others. Move supports real estate agents and brokerages by providing many services to grow their businesses, including ListHub™, the nation’s leading listing syndicator and centralized intelligence platform for the real estate industry; TigerLead®; Top Producer® Systems; and FiveStreetSM; as well as many free services. Move is based in the heart of Silicon Valley – in San Jose, Calif.

MADISON, N.J., – Prudential Real Estate Investors announced today that it has completed the capital raise of Senior Housing Partners V (SHP V) with a total of $629 million in capital commitments. SHP V is the fifth in a series of dedicated, closed-end funds designed to capitalize on investment opportunities in the growing senior housing industry. PREI is the real estate investment and advisory business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).

The capital raise, which exceeded PREI’s $500 million target, included $430.5 million from 10 existing investors and $198.5 million from four new investors, including U.S. public and corporate pension plans.

Consistent with prior Senior Housing Partners funds, SHP V will invest in the independent, assisted living and memory care segments of the senior housing industry. The fund will employ a flexible investment strategy targeting direct acquisitions, forward commitments, developments, mezzanine loans, and other opportunities.

“Powerful demographic trends continue to support the high demand for senior housing, while the supply remains constrained,” said Noah Levy, head of PREI’s senior housing business. “As the overall economy improves, we expect that senior housing will continue to benefit.”

“We are pleased with the strength of participation from PREI’s existing and new clients,” added Kevin R. Smith, head of Americas for PREI. “The successful capital raise is a testament to PREI’s consistent senior housing investment strategy, our longstanding relationships with leading senior housing operators and developers, and our ability to deliver to our clients attractive risk-adjusted returns driven by solid current income.”

Investing in the sector since 1998, PREI has helped to pioneer the dedicated senior housing investment strategy. PREI’s Senior Housing Partners team has invested approximately $2.6 billion in gross assets in the senior housing sector, involving more than 140 properties and over 15,000 units throughout the United States.

Previous PREI Senior Housing Partners funds include: SHP I, which closed in 1998, with approximately $183 million in commitments; SHP II, which closed in 2001, with approximately $94 million in commitments; SHP III, which closed in 2006, with approximately $371 million in commitments; and SHP IV, which closed in 2011, with approximately $569 million in commitments.

Prudential Real Estate Investors is the global real estate investment business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU). Investing in real estate on behalf of institutional clients since 1970, PREI today has more than 650 employees located in 19 cities around the world, and gross assets under management of $58.7 billion ($44.1 billion net) as of December 31, 2014. PREI offers to its global client base a broad range of real estate investment vehicles across the risk-return spectrum and geographies, including core, core plus, value-add, opportunistic, debt, securities, and specialized investment strategies. For more information, visit www.prei.com.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with more than $1 trillion of assets under management as of December 31, 2014, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) announced the HomePath®Ready Buyer™ program, qualifying first-time homebuyers to receive up to three percent of the purchase price in closing cost assistance toward the purchase of a HomePath property, upon completion of an online homebuyer education course. On a $150,000 home, this could result in up to $4,500 in savings for the buyer. In addition, Fannie Mae will reimburse the $75 cost of the homebuyer education course at the time of closing.

“Purchasing your first home can be an overwhelming process,” said Jay Ryan, Vice President of REO Sales, Fannie Mae. “We developed the HomePath Ready Buyer program to provide first-time homebuyers with the knowledge to make informed decisions as they navigate the complexities of the home buying process. Closing cost assistance provides a cushion many first-time buyers need to more confidently face the financial responsibilities of homeownership.”

Fannie Mae has partnered with Framework®, a nonprofit created by the Housing Partnership Network and the Minnesota Homeownership Center, to offer homebuyers a homeownership education course that covers both the complexities of home buying and the responsibilities of owning a home. The course contains nine, thirty-minute sessions and is entirely online.

To be eligible for the closing cost assistance and the reimbursement of the training cost:

Buyers must complete the full online HomePath Ready Buyer training course on www.homepath.com and receive the Certificate of Completion.
The buyer must be a first-time homebuyer (did not own a property in the past three years) with plans to reside in the property as their primary residence. Auction, pool and investor sales are not eligible.
The request for closing cost assistance must be made at the initial offer, submitted on or after April 14, 2015.
Those interested in becoming a homeowner are encouraged to take the course as soon as possible. The course must be completed before submitting an offer to qualify. For more information on the course and to sign up, visit https://www.homepath.com/ready_buyer.html.

Fannie Mae enables people to buy, refinance, or rent homes.

Visit us at: http://www.fanniemae.com/progress.

MCLEAN, VA – Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released its updated Multi-Indicator Market Index® (MiMi®) showing that the U.S. housing market experienced some winter doldrums. While an improving labor market and attractive mortgage rates continue to promise a strong spring homebuying season, housing market stability stumbled a bit due to the cold winter and a softening of economic growth. The slight decline in the national MiMi value this month is broad-based, and not concentrated in a handful of state or metro markets.

News Facts:
The national MiMi value stands at 74.6, indicating a weak housing market overall and showing a slight decline (-0.20%) from December to January and 3-month decline of (-0.37%). On a year-over-year basis, the U.S. housing market has improved (+3.39%). The nation’s all-time MiMi high of 121.7 was April 2006; its low was 57.4 in October 2010, when the housing market was at its weakest. Since that time, the housing market has made a 30 percent rebound.

Fourteen of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia have MiMi values in a stable range, with North Dakota (96.9), the District of Columbia (96.3), Hawaii (90.1), Montana (90.0), and Wyoming (88.4) ranking in the top five.

Nine of the 50 metro areas have MiMi values in a stable range, with Austin (86.0), Los Angeles (85.2), San Jose (84.1), Houston (82.2), and San Francisco (82.2) ranking in the top five.
The most improving states month-over-month were Oregon (+1.29%), Idaho (+0.49%), Utah (+0.49%), Georgia (+0.48%) and Michigan (+0.28%). On a year-over-year basis, the most improving states were Nevada (+12.02%), Colorado (+9.52%), Rhode Island (8.41%), Florida (+7.97%), and Illinois (+7.73%).
The most improving metro areas month-over-month were Portland (+0.65), Sacramento (+0.14%), Denver (+0.12%) and San Jose (+0.00%). On a year-over-year basis, the most improving metro areas were Las Vegas (+14.45%), Denver (+13.37%), Providence (+9.41%), Chicago (+7.41%), and Austin (+7.23%).
In January, 11 of the 50 states and 21 of the 50 metros were showing an improving three month trend. The same time last year, 49 states plus the District of Columbia, and all 50 of the top 50 metro areas were showing an improving three month trend.
Quote attributable to Freddie Mac Deputy Chief Economist Len Kiefer:

“Housing markets weakened slightly this month, which is no surprise considering the harsh winter and slowdown in economic activity at the outset of 2015. While single-family purchase applications dipped a bit across the board from December to January, they are still up nearly 3 percent from last year. Improving employment and attractive mortgage rates should help to support increased purchase applications, particularly as the weather warms up and we head into the spring homebuying season.”

“The good news is that mortgage delinquencies also continued their steady decline. The national MiMi current on mortgage indicator for January is up 10 percent from a year ago at 67.5, the highest level we’ve seen since in six years. The improvement in households paying their mortgages on time has been dramatic. For example, at its low point in February of 2010, California’s MiMi current on mortgage indicator was just 22.8. Since then, California has seen major improvements and today the current on mortgage indicator is 77.6, showing a 240 percent improvement from its low point and an 8.2 percent improvement from one year ago.”

The 2015 MiMi release calendar is available online.

MiMi monitors and measures the stability of the nation’s housing market, as well as the housing markets of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the top 50 metro markets. MiMi combines proprietary Freddie Mac data with current local market data to assess where each single-family housing market is relative to its own long-term stable range by looking at home purchase applications, payment-to-income ratios (changes in home purchasing power based on house prices, mortgage rates and household income), proportion of on-time mortgage payments in each market, and the local employment picture. The four indicators are combined to create a composite MiMi value for each market. Monthly, MiMi uses this data to show, at a glance, where each market stands relative to its own stable range of housing activity. MiMi also indicates how each market is trending, whether it is moving closer to, or further away from, its stable range. A market can fall outside its stable range by being too weak to generate enough demand for a well-balanced housing market or by overheating to an unsustainable level of activity.

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for approximately one in four home borrowers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing. Additional information is available at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

Mack Real Estate Group, Mack Urban and AECOM Capital announced today the formation of a new investment partnership with Capri Capital Partners, LLC (“Capri”) for development of the $144-million multifamily mixed-use project at 1230 South Olive Street and 1231 South Hill Street in the South Park district of Downtown Los Angeles. Construction of the two-building property, which will comprise 362 residential rental units and 4,000 square feet of retail space, began on March 2.

“This is an incredibly exciting development in a neighborhood full of opportunity,” said Richard Mack, CEO of Mack Real Estate Group, the capital partner of Mack Urban. “We’re pleased to be able to announce our new partnership with Capri at the same time we kick off construction.” The site is one of several in Downtown Los Angeles that Mack Real Estate Group, Mack Urban, and AECOM Capital acquired for approximately $80 million in October 2013.

“We have spent 15 months on the strategic design and planning of this project, and we’re happy to get it under way because we believe it is well tailored to local demand,” said Mack Urban Founding Principal and CEO Paul Keller. “The rental units have been thoughtfully designed to appeal to a young, urban, professional demographic. Units will be intentionally smaller to keep price points more affordable, but the building will be highly amenitized in a way that conforms to a modern, urban lifestyle.”

“This modern apartment project will be a welcome addition to Downtown LA’s South Park neighborhood, and promises to help meet the demand for housing while injecting new life into a formerly underutilized site,” said Ken Lombard, Vice Chairman, Investments and Partner for Capri. “We are excited to be investing in one of the most active residential markets in Los Angeles, and to play a role in the changing landscape of this diverse community.”

A joint venture between Tishman Construction, an AECOM company, and Morley Builders will serve as the general contractor for the project, which was designed by architects Togawa Smith Martin, Inc., the residential arm of AC Martin. Construction is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2017, with pre-leasing commencing in the fourth quarter of 2016.

South Park has become one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Downtown, with extraordinary retail and entertainment amenities that include L.A. Live, Staples Center, numerous local restaurants, popular bars, independent art galleries, a Ralph’s supermarket, and a Whole Foods slated to open in November 2015.

The new project includes two buildings with a combined total of 362 residential units, all rentals, on two adjacent sites separated by an alley and bordered by Olive, Pico and Hill streets. The two structures, located at 1230 South Olive St. and 1231 South Hill St., will provide 4,000 square feet of ground-level retail space, slated to feature a local restaurant catered to the community. The plans include a public park with outdoor seating, an improved paseo and porte cochere, as well as a bridge that connects the two buildings on the second floor podium level. “We are eagerly anticipating the completion of this development, which is designed to help ‘put the park back in South Park,’ and create a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood for residents who want to be at the heart of the high energy Downtown lifestyle,” said AECOM Capital Chief Executive John Livingston.

The two seven-story buildings will feature five levels of wood construction framed above two levels of concrete podium. Two levels of subterranean parking will accommodate 438 cars, and will cater to ecofriendly residents with 40 charging stations for electric vehicles. Also in tune with the times is a large bicycle room and repair shop that can house up to 400 bikes.

Abundant lifestyle amenities will include a pool deck complete with a spa, cabanas, lounge areas and BBQs, a large gym with outdoor cycling, yoga studio, community rooms with two kitchens, an outdoor roof deck, and grand lobbies with concierge service and a mailroom that provides cold storage for food deliveries. For residents with pets, there will be two dog runs and a full-service dog-wash station.

The mix of residential units, averaging 760 square feet, will include 75 percent studio and one-bedroom apartments, with six three-bedroom units and 58 two-bedroom apartments. Twenty-two two-story townhomes at street level on Hill and Olive Streets will provide an urban escape for residents with a proclivity for a spacious downtown lifestyle. All units offer plenty of room for storage, and will feature modern interiors, including stainless steel appliances and in-unit washers and dryers. The design fully complies with and sets a new bar for Downtown Los Angeles guidelines that call for abundant green space, wide sidewalks and pedestrian walkways.

Mack Urban is the West Coast real estate investment and development business of New York’s Mack Real Estate Group. Mack Urban, which was founded and previously known as Urban Partners, focuses on multifamily residential urban infill projects in major West Coast markets such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and Portland. AECOM Capital is the investment fund of Los Angeles-based AECOM. The development partnership now includes Capri Capital Partners, an institutional real estate investment advisory firm that offers a broad spectrum of real estate equity and debt products.

SEATTLE and SAN FRANCISCO, – Zillow, Inc. today announced it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Trulia, Inc. for $2.5 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction, and formed Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z), which houses a portfolio of the largest and most vibrant U.S. real estate and home-related brands on mobile and the Web. In addition to Zillow and Trulia, Zillow Group’s consumer brand portfolio includes StreetEasy, New York City’s leading real estate marketplace, and rental search brand HotPads.

“This is a pivotal day in online real estate and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome Trulia to Zillow Group,” said Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow Group. “Each of our brands share a consumer-first philosophy, and our powerful combination of insights and expertise will drive even greater innovation for consumers, empowering them with essential information they need to make critical financial decisions. Our combination will also enable real estate professionals to more efficiently and easily reach the nation’s largest audience of engaged buyers, sellers and homeowners, and extract even more value from their advertising.”

Paul Levine, previously Trulia’s chief operating officer, has been named president of Trulia, reporting to Rascoff. Pete Flint, co-founder and former CEO of Trulia, has joined the Zillow Group board of directors, as has former Trulia board member Greg Waldorf. Zillow Group is expected to begin trading on Nasdaq on Feb. 18, 2015, under the ticker symbol “Z” and will inherit the trading history of Zillow Inc., which also traded under the ticker symbol “Z”.

Later this year, Zillow Group expects to begin to offer shared services and marketing platforms for advertisers and industry partners that will enhance efficiency and deliver greater return on investment. Information about any changes will be communicated promptly to advertisers and partners.

In connection with the close of the acquisition, the companies eliminated approximately 280 positions, primarily in San Francisco and Bellevue, Wash., due primarily to redundancy in the combined company’s sales and administrative organizations. Another 70 positions will be eliminated as of the end of the second quarter, at which time Zillow Group will have approximately 2,000 employees. The approximately 350 affected employees have already been notified.

Zillow Group intends to provide pro forma financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014 prior to its first quarter earnings report, tentatively planned for May 2015. Information about Zillow Group, including media and investor information, can be found at www.zillowgroup.com. Zillow Group news can also be found at the Twitter handle @ZillowGroup.

Transaction Details

Zillow Group acquired Trulia in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at $2.5 billion, based on the closing price of Zillow stock on Feb. 17, 2015. As part of the agreement, Trulia stockholders received 0.444 shares of Class A Common Stock of Zillow Group, Inc. for each share of Trulia Common Stock, and own approximately 33% of the combined company as of closing. Current Zillow holders of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock received one share of comparable Zillow Group Common Stock, representing approximately 67% of the newly combined company. Zillow Group now has approximately 70.5 million fully diluted shares outstanding. Trulia’s convertible notes have been assumed by Zillow Group. The acquisition of Trulia was announced on July 28, 2014, received shareholder and stockholder approval for each company on Dec. 18, 2014, and Zillow was notified by the Federal Trade Commission of its assent of the transaction on Feb. 13, 2015.

Conference Call

Zillow Group management will host a conference call to discuss the close of the Trulia acquisition on Feb. 18, 2015. The call will begin at 6 a.m. Pacific Time (9 a.m. Eastern Time), and it will also be webcast live. The live webcast of the conference call will be available on the investor relations section of Zillow Group’s website at http://investors.zillowgroup.com/. For those without access to the Internet, the call may be accessed toll-free via phone at 877-643-7152 with conference ID# 61427387. Callers outside the United States may dial 443-863-7921 with conference ID# 61427387. Following completion of the call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available on the investor relations section of Zillow Group’s website at http://investors.zillowgroup.com.

About Zillow Group
Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) houses a portfolio of the largest real estate and home-related brands on the Web and mobile. The company’s brands focus on all stages of the home lifecycle: renting, buying, selling, financing and home improvement. Zillow Group is committed to empowering consumers with unparalleled data, inspiration and knowledge around homes, and connecting them with the right local professionals to help. The Zillow Group portfolio of consumer brands includes real estate and rental marketplaces Zillow®, Trulia®, StreetEasy® and HotPads®. In addition, Zillow Group works with tens of thousands of real estate agents, lenders and rental professionals, helping them maximize business opportunities and connect to millions of consumers. The company operates a number of brands for real estate, rental and mortgage professionals, including Postlets®, Mortech®, Diverse Solutions®, Market Leader®, ActiveRain® and Retsly™. The company is headquartered in Seattle.

The pace of monumental-scale infrastructure construction projects is on the rise worldwide, with current annual global infrastructure demand pegged at $4 trillion, according to the World Economic Forum.1 Occurring in both developed and emerging markets, these megaprojects have become multinational undertakings whose success often hinges on numerous companies and governments operating in concert, frequently in the face of political, legal and cultural divides among the participants.

These challenges pose risks. But because the need (to build new or replace rapidly aging infrastructure) and upside (in terms of potential profitability and benefits) are substantial, “it is imperative,” says Brookings Institute Vice President Bruce Katz, “that more U.S. metros and firms (particularly middle market firms) expand their presence abroad.”2

According to Mr. Katz, more than 83% of global gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be generated outside the U.S. over the next five years. Since so much of GDP rides on the quality and availability of robust infrastructure (road, freight rail, seaports, air hubs, etc.) – so that companies can create and deliver products and services when and where they are needed – this trend portends opportunities for the global construction industry in terms of refurbishing old, and building new, infrastructure.

Who will benefit most? According to author Dan McNichol, the advantage in the global market will principally lie with “firms with the keenest understanding of the local market in which they operate…[because] risks on the legal, compliance and tax fronts are traps that ensnare the most sophisticated contractors.”3 In projects of the scale being discussed, multinational firms may well find themselves facing litigation (and/or the risk of litigation) challenges across multiple jurisdictions.

Impact of Urbanization and Aging Infrastructure

A sizable percentage of current and projected infrastructure spending is being driven by rapid urbanization occurring in many markets, particularly emerging markets. One expert projects that by 2050 there will be 2 billion more people living in cities globally than there are today.4 This kind of growth puts heavy stress on existing infrastructure and paves the way for the construction of supporting infrastructure of all forms – public transportation systems, sewage systems, etc.

Decaying infrastructure is also a major driver of megaproject spending. In the U.S. alone, the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that annual infrastructure spending will need to increase to $150 billion more than current levels from now until 2020 in order to meet the country’s needs.5

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

One recent example of the kind of global, mega-infrastructure project currently underway in many locations around the world was the replacement of the San Francisco—Oakland Bay Bridge. The Bay Bridge, which originally opened to traffic on Nov. 12, 1936, was damaged by an earthquake in 1989 and needed to be rebuilt.

The $7 billion project involved a level of multinational cooperation seldom seen before. Fabrication of the main structural steel for the bridge was outsourced to China. South Korea handled the manufacturing of seismic bearings and temporary detour structures. Japan forged the world’s first double-cable saddle, which sits atop a 525-foot tower built by the Chinese. England produced the main cables’ bands. And the U.S. handled about 80% of the manufacturing.

Given how difficult it would be to correct problems later, once the various pieces of the bridge had been manufactured and shipped from such far-flung parts of the globe, production mistakes were not an option.

As Ken Terpstra, overall project manager for the California Highway Department, explained: “We sent more than 60 experts from our staff to Shanghai in an unprecedented program, in order to oversee our contractor’s work on the main structural steel fabrication, […] We had to ensure that the metals, welds and fabrication were delivered to our exacting standards here in California…[because] correcting problems on this side of the Pacific was not an option.”6

The rebuilding of the Bay Bridge was a success – it reopened on Sept. 2, 2013. And it’s not hard to see how important the role of risk management plays in such complex projects. Robin Johnson, AIG’s head of Broker and Client Management in Asia, notes: “[When] there is fabrication in multiple countries, if a client fails to buy the right programs, they face the chance that the risks, won’t be covered, that there will be gaps in coverage. Before globalization of these megaprojects, that simply wasn’t the case.”7

As long as sufficient financing and industry bandwidth can be found, the globalization of mega-infrastructure projects will likely continue. Managing the projects themselves, and the risks associated with them, will remain a complex but rewarding endeavor—with the potential to deliver not only solid profits to the construction firms and investors involved, but also renewed vigor to the citizens and economies that these projects ultimately serve.

ATLANTA, – The Home Depot®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, has begun filling more than 80,000 positions as it prepares for spring, the company’s busiest selling season.

The company is now recruiting for positions both in its stores and distribution facilities, as the warm season approaches and customers begin to spruce up their lawns and tackle new home improvement projects. From sales and cashiers to operations and online order fulfillment, opportunities available include both permanent part-time and seasonal positions.

“Spring is a great time to join The Home Depot, where you can work alongside a fun, energetic team that’s passionate about the latest home improvement innovations and great customer service,” said Tim Crow, executive vice president—Human Resources.

From retirees and college students looking for extra income to veterans easing back into civilian life, The Home Depot offers more than a short-term opportunity. Time accrued during seasonal assignments applies to eligibility for benefits provided to permanent hourly associates, such as the company’s “Success Sharing” profit-sharing program, 401k match and tuition assistance, if a seasonal associate transitions to a permanent position.

Applications must be submitted online at www.careers.homedepot.com.

This spring, the company is equipping its associates with the next generation of its in-store mobile technology, called the FIRST Phone. The company deployed approximately forty thousand new web-enabled devices to help stores expedite checkout through “line-busting”, conduct mobile check-out in outside garden, and give associates a simple customer service tool for locating products, checking inventory on hand, or simply explaining product features.

Digital Newsroom
For major market hiring numbers, interview tips or a closer look at the new FIRST Phone, visit The Home Depot’s digital newsroom at http://builtfromscratch.homedepot.com.

The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,269 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2013, The Home Depot had sales of $78.8 billion and earnings of $5.4 billion. The company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

When we build roads, bridges, ports, communications networks, municipal water systems, and other infrastructure, we are not just putting construction workers and engineers to work — we are also revitalizing communities, protecting public health and safety, connecting people to jobs, empowering entrepreneurs, and making it easier for American businesses to export goods around the world. There is certainly enough work to do, with $2 trillion in deferred maintenance on the Nation’s infrastructure. Built by far-sighted investment over generations, America’s world-class infrastructure is falling behind the rest of the world. As other nations have sought to compete economically by improving infrastructure, U.S. investment lags behind many of its overseas competitors. In the most recent World Economic Forum rankings, the United States had, in less than a decade, fallen from 7th to 18th overall in the quality of its roads. Building a durable and reliable 21st Century infrastructure creates good jobs that cannot be outsourced and will provide American workers and businesses with the transportation and communication networks they need to help grow the economy. The Budget includes significant investments to repair the existing infrastructure and build the infrastructure of tomorrow in smart, efficient, and cost-effective ways.

2.2.1
Long-Term Investments in Upgrading America’s Transportation Infrastructure
To spur economic growth and allow States and localities to initiate sound multi-year investments, the Budget includes a six-year, $478 billion surface transportation reauthorization proposal.

By reinvesting the transition revenue from pro-growth business tax reform, the President’s plan will ensure the health of the Highway Trust Fund for another six years — two years beyond the 2015 Budget GROW AMERICA proposal — and invest in a range of activities to spur and sustain long-term growth. The President’s plan to rebuild America will increase spending to repair and modernize the Nation’s highways and bridges, as well as injecting much needed investment into the existing transit and intercity passenger rail systems. The President’s plan also increases investments to expand new transit projects, link regional economies by funding the development of high-performance rail, and support American exports by improving goods movement within the Nation’s freight rail networks. Small businesses particularly depend on the quality of transportation networks to get goods to market competitively, allowing them to win customers, expand operations, and hire new employees. To help spur innovation and economic mobility, the reauthorization proposal would permanently authorize the competitive TIGER grant program to support projects that bring job opportunities to communities across the United States. The proposal would also advance the President’s Climate Action Plan by building more resilient infrastructure and reducing transportation emissions by responding to the greater demand and travel growth in public transit. Also, to make sure that Americans are driving vehicles that are safe to operate, the reauthorization proposal includes additional resources for investigating automobile defects, improving data collection to better support Government oversight of auto manufacturers, and making changes to hold auto manufacturers more accountable for reporting and responding to vehicle defects.

The Case for Investing in Infrastructure in Today’s Economy

The Budget proposes to invest in infrastructure through a comprehensive six-year surface transportation reauthorization proposal, as well as tax incentives for State and local infrastructure investment, a new Infrastructure Bank, and other initiatives. The Federal Government plays a vital role in infrastructure investment, and the Nation’s roads, bridges, and other surface transportation infrastructure systems are badly in need of upgrades and repairs. For example, 65 percent of America’s major roads are rated in less than good condition and one quarter of U.S. bridges need rehabilitation, replacement, or significant maintenance and repair to remain in service or do not meet current design standards and traffic needs. Although the economic recovery has begun to accelerate, the economy is still operating below capacity, and interest rates remain at very low levels. While infrastructure investment will continue to be needed even after the economy reaches full employment, time is running out to make these needed investments under ideal economic conditions.

A recent study published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) [1] makes a convincing case that “the time is right for a strong infrastructure push” in advanced economies such as the United States. While infrastructure is critical for economic efficiency and growth, the private sector often fails to make sufficient investment in infrastructure for several reasons, such as positive externalities, large start-up costs, and economies of scale. Thus, in many cases, the public sector can provide infrastructure more efficiently.

Public infrastructure investment promotes economic growth by boosting aggregate demand in the short run and improving economic efficiency in the long run. While infrastructure needs to be financed, the IMF study presents statistical evidence that — under the right conditions — the combination of short- and long-term economic gains from infrastructure investment can offset much of its cost. When many workers are unemployed, infrastructure investment increases total employment, as opposed to bidding workers away from other sectors, thus increasing aggregate demand.

The U.S. economy still has unused capacity. While the unemployment rate has declined significantly and more workers are holding full-time jobs, nearly four percent of the workforce is still working part time for the lack of full-time work, and unemployment rates in the construction sector remain higher than in the economy as a whole. Moreover, the Federal Government remains able to borrow at very low interest rates, with the 10-year Treasury rate ending 2014 below two and a half percent. While the Budget proposes to offset the cost of its new infrastructure investments, it would front-load the investments and pay for them over the 10-year budget window. This pro-growth approach has the potential to realize both the short- and long-term gains from investing in infrastructure, with no risk of higher long-run debt.

The IMF study also highlights the importance of choosing high-efficiency infrastructure projects based on rigorous benefit-cost analysis. The United States has a pent up supply of badly needed infrastructure projects that meet these tests, and the President’s surface transportation plan would result in larger share of funds being allocated through competitive processes.

[1] International Monetary Fund, 2014, “Is It Time for an Infrastructure Push? The Macroeconomic Effects of Public Investment,” in World Economic Outlook: Legacies, Clouds, Uncertainties.

2.2.2
Infrastructure Permitting
To further accelerate economic growth and improve the competitiveness of the American economy, the Administration is taking action to modernize and improve the efficiency of the Federal permitting process for major infrastructure projects. In May 2014, the President announced a comprehensive interagency plan with 15 reforms to turn best practices into common practice. To implement this plan, the 2015 Budget proposed a new Interagency Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Center housed at the Department of Transportation to lead the Administration’s reform efforts across nearly 20 Federal agencies and bureaus. While waiting for the Congress to act, the Administration set-up an interim interagency team to support reforms, such as moving from separate, consecutive reviews to synchronized, simultaneous reviews. For example, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Transportation have launched a new partnership to synchronize their reviews for transportation and other infrastructure projects, such as bridges that cross navigation channels. By developing one environmental analysis that satisfies all three agencies, project timelines can be significantly reduced. Building on these efforts, the Budget supports an expanded, publicly available Permitting Dashboard that tracks project schedules and metrics for major infrastructure projects, further improving the transparency and accountability of the permitting process. To accomplish these goals, the Budget proposes $4 million for the Department of Transportation to expand the Federal Infrastructure Permitting Dashboard and fund staff to lead interagency reforms that accelerate progress and improve outcomes. In addition, the Budget includes $4 million for permitting reforms through a proposal to expand interagency transfer authorities, which would institutionalize capacity to address cross-agency management improvements. The Budget also includes additional funding to expedite the consultations required pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, which also will help accelerate permit review timeframes.

2.2.3 — Build America Investment Initiative

The Budget includes support for the Build America Investment Initiative (BAII), a Government-wide, interagency initiative to increase infrastructure investment and promote economic growth by supporting public-private collaboration in major infrastructure sectors such as transportation, water, and telecommunications. As part of the BAII, the Administration has launched investment centers to provide States and municipalities with assistance on securing investment in transportation, water systems, and rural infrastructure. Together, these centers will facilitate direct private investment in U.S. infrastructure and encourage greater public-private collaboration. For example, as part of the BAII, the Department of Transportation established the Build America Transportation Investment Center to serve as a one-stop-shop for cities and States seeking to use innovative financing and partnerships with the private sector to support transportation infrastructure. An Interagency Infrastructure Finance Working Group, co-chaired by the Secretaries of the Treasury and Transportation, delivered recommendations to the President on how to promote awareness and understanding of innovative financing and increase effective public-private collaboration. Building on those recommendations, the Administration has worked with the private sector to launch two additional investment initiatives that will help leverage existing investments in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and other infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, local and regional food systems, and broadband expansion throughout rural America. Other Federal agencies are also focusing on using existing authorities to increase the private sector’s participation in the financing of public infrastructure. In addition, the Budget proposes to create a new America Fast Forward Bond program that, like its Build America Bond precursor, will provide State and local governments with an optional taxable bond alternative to traditional tax-exempt bonds. The Federal Government will share in the cost of these bonds so they are as affordable to issuers as tax-exempt bonds, proceeds of which can be used to further finance governmental capital projects.

2.2.4 — Launching the National Parks Centennial Initiative

For 100 years, National Park Service (NPS) parks and historic sites have preserved and shared America’s cultural and historical identity. These places present America’s unique history and draw tourists from across the United States and around the world. There is an opportunity to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Nation’s great parks by providing enhanced park services for visitors, and through targeted investments to improve NPS facilities. This opportunity is an historic effort to upgrade and restore national parks, while putting tens of thousands of Americans to work and engaging and inspiring younger generations to carry the Nation’s parks into the future.

The Budget proposes $860 million in mandatory and discretionary funding to allow NPS, over 10 years, to make targeted, measurable, and quantifiable upgrades to all of its highest priority non-transportation assets and restore and maintain them to good condition. Addressing the critical needs of these assets avoids deterioration and costs for future generations. The Budget also proposes matching funds to leverage private donations for signature projects and programs at national parks. This significant effort ensures America’s national treasures will be preserved over the next hundred years for future generations.

The 1916 Act that created NPS called for parks to be left “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” The Parks Centennial seeks to live up to this call by providing more opportunities for children to interact with natural areas. This targeted effort involves transporting over a million urban youth a year to national and public lands with dedicated youth coordinators to welcome them and their families. Today’s investment in the next generation of visitors will help build the stewards of America’s national treasures in the future.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which the Budget commemorates by proposing $50 million to restore and highlight key sites across the United States that contributed to the struggle for civil rights. This includes investments in specific NPS sites associated with the 1950s and 1960s civil rights movement, such as the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. State, local, and tribal governments can also apply for historic preservation funds to help them document and preserve stories and sites associated with the struggle.

2.2.5— Smart Investments in Federal Facilities

Investing in the Nation’s federally-owned facilities ensures that mission execution is optimized at the lowest possible cost. Funding reductions in recent years have led to facility deterioration, as well as missed opportunities to consolidate and reduce operating costs. The General Services Administration (GSA) is leading the Federal effort to both invest in Federal facilities and consolidate space to reduce costs and optimize efficiency, saving tens of millions in annual lease costs. The Budget will invest more than $2.5 billion in GSA’s Federal facilities portfolio, an increase of more than $1.1 billion over the enacted level. GSA will invest $1.25 billion in construction and acquisition priorities, including the next phase of the consolidated Department of Homeland Security Headquarters and the first phase of a Civilian Cyber Campus. GSA will also invest more than $900 million in critical repairs and alterations and consolidation activities. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the USDA Forest Service will eliminate operating costs by demolishing unneeded facilities. The Smithsonian Institution and DOI will make necessary investments to improve the condition of facilities and reduce operational costs. The Budget invests $60 million to continue renovations of USDA headquarters, and $206 million for the Agricultural Research Service to renovate and construct its facilities. The Budget also invests $1.5 billion for construction projects at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), an increase of nearly $500 million over the 2015 enacted level. These investments will enhance the Department’s mission while providing opportunities for long-term savings, as building upgrades and renovations result in a reduced footprint. Government-wide, agencies will continue their efforts to reduce their space in accordance with the Administration’s goal to reduce the Federal footprint. In total, the Budget provides an additional $2.4 billion in capital investment funding over the 2015 enacted level.

WASHINGTON, DC – Driven by strengthening private domestic demand, economic growth is expected to accelerate modestly this year and drag last year’s unspectacular housing activity upward, according to Fannie Mae’s (FNMA/OTC) Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group. Amid continued low gasoline prices, firming labor market conditions, rising household net worth, improving consumer and business confidence, and reduced fiscal headwinds, the economy is expected to climb to 3.1 percent in 2015, up from the Group’s estimate of 2.7 percent in the prior forecast. The stronger economic backdrop should lead to improving income prospects, underpinning a higher rate of household formation in 2015.

“Our theme for the year, Economy Drags Housing Upward, implies that both housing and the economy will pick up some speed in 2015, but that the economy will grow at a faster pace,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “We have revised upward our full-year economic growth forecast to 3.1 percent for 2015, which is not yet robust but still an improvement over last year’s growth. Consumer spending should continue to strengthen due in large part to lower gas prices, giving further support to auto sales and manufacturing. We believe this will motivate the Federal Reserve to begin measures to normalize monetary policy in the third quarter of this year, continuing at a cautiously steady pace into 2016 and 2017, likely keeping interest rates relatively low for some time.”

“Strength in the broader economy, accompanied by continued employment growth and meaningful income growth, should contribute to some improvement in housing activity this year,” said Duncan. “Given historically low mortgage rates and a gradual easing of lending standards, our forecast calls for a 5.8 percent increase in total home sales for the year. Most of that is likely to come from growth in existing home sales, but we expect the rising share of new home sales to lead to a healthy increase in single-family construction of about 19 percent, or 765,000 units. Although we don’t view this as signaling a breakout year for housing, we do expect to see broad-based improvement in 2015 following a disappointing and uneven year for the housing recovery in 2014.”

Visit the Economic & Strategic Research site at www.fanniemae.com to read the full January 2015 Economic Outlook, including the Economic Developments Commentary, Economic Forecast, Housing Forecast, and Multifamily Market Commentary.

ATLANTA – – HD Supply (NASDAQ: HDS) and The Home Depot® (NYSE: HD) today announced they have entered into an agreement for The Home Depot to purchase substantially all of the assets of HD Supply Hardware Solutions, formerly known as Crown Bolt, a leading supplier of fasteners and builders hardware to retailers in the United States. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close by the end of fiscal year 2014 subject to obtaining customary regulatory approvals.

“After a detailed evaluation, we determined that selling our Hardware Solutions business is in the best interests of our associates and HD Supply shareholders,” said Joe DeAngelo, CEO of HD Supply. “HD Supply Hardware Solutions and The Home Depot have a long-standing and natural partnership. The Home Depot is Hardware Solutions’ largest customer and accounts for approximately 98 percent of its annual sales.”

HD Supply Hardware Solutions was The Home Depot’s 2013 Hardware Vendor of the Year, recognized for providing top-notch service and quality to The Home Depot stores. “Our companies have had a long-standing relationship,” said Craig Menear, CEO and president, The Home Depot. “By formally bringing the business into The Home Depot family, we expect to further enhance our supply chain capabilities and hardware product offerings.”

About HD Supply:
HD Supply (www.hdsupply.com) is one of the largest industrial distributors in North America. The company provides
a broad range of products and value-add services to approximately 500,000 customers with leadership positions in
maintenance, repair and operations, infrastructure and power and specialty construction sectors. Through
approximately 650 locations across 48 states and seven Canadian provinces, the company’s approximately 16,000
associates provide localized, customer-driven services including jobsite delivery, will call or direct-ship options,
diversified logistics and innovative solutions that contribute to its customers’ success.

About The Home Depot:
The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,269 retail stores in all 50 states,
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2013, The
Home Depot had sales of $78.8 billion and earnings of $5.4 billion. The company employs more than 300,000
associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow
Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

SEATTLE, Dec. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — The total value of all the homes in the United States is expected to end 2014 at $27.5 trillion, a 6.7 percent increase from last year and the third consecutive overall increase, according to Zillow. Homes lost $6.1 trillion in value between December 2006 and December 2011.

The cumulative increase in home values is slightly smaller than 2013’s 8 percent increase, and that kind of gradual slowing is a sign of the times as the market heads for slower expected gains in 2015. Over the second half of 2014, inventoryi increased in many U.S. markets and, with more homes on the market, home value appreciation slowed.

“Looking at the total value of the U.S. housing stock proves just how huge and important the housing sector is to the overall economy,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “Virtually nowhere else will you see gains of more than a trillion dollars in one year represent only single-digit percentages of the total market. As we conclude 2014 and look ahead at 2015 and beyond, housing will play a bigger role in the broader economic recovery. As the job market improves and more households form, more people will search for homes to buy and rent, which will translate into more people buying appliances and home goods and lead to more jobs for home builders and contractors. Housing is well positioned to continue the great strides already made this year.”

Zillow’s November Real Estate Market Reportsii showed home values up 6 percent from November 2013 to a Zillow® Home Value Index (ZHVI)iii of $177,600. Looking ahead, as more homes come on the market, growth in home values is expected to slow, to a 2.4 percent pace through November 2015, according to the Zillow Home Value Forecast.iv There were 11.8 percent more homes for sale in November 2014 than a year prior, but inventory fell slightly in many major markets from October to November.

Among major markets, home values were up the most year-over-year in Miami (13.6%), Atlanta (12.8%), Houston (11.9%), Orlando (11.9%), and Las Vegas (11.5%). Values were higher than last November in almost every major U.S. metro.

About Zillow:
Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) operates the largest home-related marketplaces on mobile and the Web, with a complementary portfolio of brands and products that help people find vital information about homes, and connect with the best local professionals. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow’s Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. Dr. Humphries and his team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Zillow also sponsors the bi-annual Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) which measures consumer confidence in local housing markets, both currently and over time. The Zillow, Inc. portfolio includes Zillow.com®, Zillow Mobile, Zillow Mortgages, Zillow Rentals, Zillow Digs®, Postlets®, Diverse Solutions®, Mortech®, HotPads™, StreetEasy® and Retsly™. The company is headquartered in Seattle.

SAN JOSE, Calif., — This year demonstrated a steady build-up of housing momentum –fueled by significant improvements in economic fundamentals, low mortgage rates, and compressed inventory – and is expected to carry the market into 2015 gains, according to the 2014 Housing Review issued today by realtor.com®, a leading provider of online real estate services operated by News Corp subsidiary Move, Inc. This review includes the Top 10 Real Estate Trends that defined the 2014 housing market, as well as the Most-Searched Neighborhoods of the year.

“Many of the gains that we recently predicted in the realtor.com® 2015 Housing Forecast are built on housing growth established in 2014. Overall, this year’s housing market showed steady advances over 2013 with significant improvement in key housing metrics, despite some remaining challenges,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®. “Increases in job creation and gross domestic product (GDP) have had a significant impact on consumer confidence and home buyer demand. Paired with historically low interest rates, these factors kept properties moving quickly with median time on market at approximately 90 days. Unfortunately, the low number of homes for sale and stringent lending standards prevented a normal number of first time home buyers from closing on their first home in 2014.”

Realtor.com®’s Top 10 Real Estate Trends of 2014

Indicators demonstrating a stronger housing recovery:

Improving economic fundamentals: After an especially harsh winter earlier in the year, the economy picked up steam and produced a banner year for new jobs. The GDP this year was higher, and is still trending higher, resulting in stronger consumer confidence.
Historically low mortgage rates continued: Mortgage rates declined despite the end of quantitative easing this year. Global weakness, along with actions by the European Central Bank and similar central banks in Asia kept our Federal Reserve from raising the Federal Fund Rate, which kept mortgage rates low.
Deceleration of abnormal home price gains or return to normal price appreciation: After two years of abnormally high levels of home price appreciation in 2012 and 2013, price increases moderated throughout 2014. We are now experiencing increases in home prices consistent with long-term historical performance.
Decline of distressed sales: Foreclosures and short sales declined throughout the year, and while total home sales decreased year over year, normal (non-distressed) home sales increased over 2013 – due to the decline of the distressed sales market. Foreclosure inventories also fell substantially, and are forecasted to be down 30 percent year over year at the close of 2014.
End of the era of major investors active in purchases: Related to the drop in distressed sales opportunities, and against backdrop of higher home prices, portfolios of single-family homes for rent potentially reached their peak earlier this year. Large-scale investor purchase activity in the single-family market sector continued to decline, enabling more room for traditional first-time buyers.
Factors holding back recovery:

Tight credit standards and limited mortgage availability: Despite historically low rates, many households were prevented from capitalizing on mortgage access because of overlays lenders added to qualification standards in order to limit put-back risk. A tight spread between approved and declined FICO Scores shut out nearly half of the potential population this year. As a result, mortgage credit availability did not improve in 2014.

Tight supply of inventory: While absolute inventories increased as the year progressed, supply did not outpace demand. Monthly supply of new homes and existing homes remained beneath normal levels, and the age of inventory was down year over year.

Depressed levels of first-time buyers: The share of first-time buyers fell to the lowest level in over twenty years according to the National Association of Realtors. “But the first-time buyer share is showing signs of modest improvement by the year-end,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist. Federal policy actions, such as revised regulations for lenders and new low down-payment programs introduced in December are anticipated to have a positive impact in 2015.

Record levels of renters and ever-increasing rent prices: Continued declines in homeownership rates resulted in record numbers of renting households. Rent increases became an inflationary concern this year, and looking ahead, the pace of these increases are not slowing down.
Lack of recovery in homebuilding and low share of new home sales: Single-family starts barely increased in 2014 over 2013. New home sales remain far from normal share levels – typically near 16 percent, now instead around 9 percent. New home prices increased substantially again this year, revealing that higher priced product is limiting the demand.

“In 2014, we also saw some neighborhoods stand out from the pack, eliciting the most searches on realtor.com® for the entire year. The hyper-local markets on this list demonstrate the wonderful diversity of real estate demand across the country,” Smoke said. “Median list prices in these most-searched neighborhoods are near $400,000, well above national median of $214,000, as well as their respective metro medians. Homes in these communities are moving quickly as the aggregated median age for the group is almost half of the national median of 90 days.”

SEATTLE, — Zillow predicts a big year for home buyers in 2015, with more millennials entering the market amid rising rents. Zillow’s annual housing predictions also identify the five best housing markets for first-time homebuyers this coming year.

2015 Predictions

U.S. rents will outpace home values by the end of the year
Builders will begin constructing more, less expensive homes
Millennials will overtake Generation X as the largest group of homebuyers
Homebuyers will have more negotiating power in 2015
2015’s Best Housing Markets for First-Time Homebuyers

First-time homebuyers will be a critical part of the housing market next year, and certain markets will have more favorable conditions than others for buyers looking for that perfect entry-level home1. Markets most favorable to first-time buyers are those with strong income growth among 23-34 year olds, significant growth in the number of entry-level homes on the market and home prices that won’t take a big chunk out of buyers’ paychecks.

Nationwide, home values will increase by 2.5 percent while rents will grow around 3.5 percent.
“Home value appreciation will continue to cool down, from roughly 6 percent now to around 2.5 percent by the end of 2015. But rents will see no such slowdown, and will continue to grow around 3.5 percent annually throughout 2015. As renters’ costs keep going up, I expect the allure of fixed mortgage payments and a more stable housing market will entice many more otherwise content renters into the housing market.”
– Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow chief economist

Builders will begin constructing more, less expensive homes.
“In recent years, home builders seem to have made a conscious decision to sell fewer, more expensive homes instead of more, cheaper homes. In 2015, that will change, especially as demand moves toward the lower end of the market as millennials begin buying en masse. New home sales volume has been stuck around the 450,000 per year mark. In order to break out and get that number above 500,000, builders are going to have to start to build cheaper homes, which will help to narrow the price gap between new and existing homes and contribute to more rapid inventory gains.”
– Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow chief economist

By the end of 2015, millennial buyers (under the age of 35) will become the largest group of buyers, overtaking Gen X (35-50 years old).
“Roughly 42 percent of millennials say they want to buy a home in the next one to five years, compared to just 31 percent of Generation X, and by the end of 2015 millennials will become the largest home-buying age group. The lack of home-buying activity from millennials thus far is decidedly not because this generation isn’t interested in homeownership, but instead because younger Americans have been delaying getting married and having children, two key drivers in the decision to buy that first home. As this generation matures, they will become a home-buying force to be reckoned with.”
– Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow chief economist

In general, buyers will get back more leverage in the market.
“Since the recovery began in earnest in late 2012, buyers have really taken it on the chin, forced to contend with low inventory, tight credit, bidding wars and intense competition from investors and all-cash buyers. But next year we’ll start to see things really turn around. More inventory will continue to come on line, putting the competitive pressure on sellers for a change. This more balanced market will be smoother sailing for everyone, both for buyers in search of a competitive advantage, and for sellers who turn around and become buyers themselves.”
– Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow chief economist

About Zillow
Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) operates the largest home-related marketplaces on mobile and the Web, with a complementary portfolio of brands and products that help people find vital information about homes, and connect with the best local professionals. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow’s Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. Dr. Humphries and his team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Zillow also sponsors the bi-annual Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) which measures consumer confidence in local housing markets, both currently and over time. The Zillow, Inc. portfolio includes Zillow.com®, Zillow Mobile, Zillow Mortgages, Zillow Rentals, Zillow Digs®, Postlets®, Diverse Solutions®, Mortech®, HotPads™, StreetEasy® and Retsly™. The company is headquartered in Seattle.